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April 24, 2019

Pitts, Williams inducted into Canadian Football Hall of Fame

David Williams

The Canadian Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2019 will feature a definite splash of blue and gold.

The star-studded cast of inductees announced today in Toronto includes two players who wore Winnipeg Blue Bombers colours in receiver/defensive back Ernie Pitts, who is being added posthumously, and wide receiver David Williams.

They join Jon Cornish, Mervyn Fernandez, Terry Greer and builders Jim Hopson and Frank Smith to make up the 2019 class. The entire crew will be formally inducted Friday, August 9th at the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in Hamilton and saluted a day later at the Hall of Fame Game, with the B.C. Lions visiting the Tiger-Cats.

“It’s a great honour,” said Williams in a chat with bluebombers.com. “My first reaction was a fist pump. I was driving in my car when they called me. You know, over the years you are happy for your buddy Matt Dunigan (inducted in 2006), you’re happy for James West (class of 2016) and all those guys you played with.

“I’ll be honest, sometimes you are jealous of the guys that got in that played receiver at the same time you played. I didn’t know what the criteria was or anything, but everybody wants to get that call one day. I just feel so blessed.”

Williams came north to the CFL in 1988 after starring at Illinois – where he was a two-time First Team All American – and following stints in the National Football League with Chicago, Tampa Bay and the Los Angeles Raiders.

He was already an established CFL star by the time he joined the Bombers in 1993, having been an all-star and named the league’s Most Outstanding Player in 1988.

Signed as a free agent after also playing for Ottawa, Edmonton and Toronto, Williams reunited with Dunigan here in Winnipeg and was unstoppable in his first year as a Bomber, pulling in 84 receptions for 1,144 yards and a league-leading 15 touchdowns in 1993.

Injuries, including an Achilles tendon in 1994, limited Williams to just 22 games over three years with the Bombers, but he pulled in 18 touchdowns in those 22 appearances.

“I’m blessed and hopefully the guys that played with me are proud… all those guys blocking, those guys throwing you the ball,” said Williams. “Without them, you don’t get there. There are so many people involved in me getting to the hall of fame, I hope they get a chance to say, ‘Hey, I was part of that’, whether it’s ‘I coached him’ or ‘he was my teammate and we had a ball.’

“I hope the people of Winnipeg and the Bombers know I appreciate them. I hope those that watched me play know that I played hard for my teammates and the people there cheering for me. I knew people had spent their hard-earned money on tickets, so I always wanted to play my best because of that. Make sure the fans and the organization know I want to thank them for the opportunity and for them cheering for me.”

Pitts, meanwhile, came to the Bombers in 1957 after Bud Grant received a tip from a scout, and it turned out to be one of the shrewdest moves in franchise history.

He was a three-time West Division All-Star as a receiver in 1957, 1959 and 1960 and, after switching to defensive back, was then an all-star at that position in 1965, 1966 and 1968. Pitts led the Bombers in receiving for five seasons and interceptions for two years and still ranks in the club’s Top 10 in receiving yardage.

Pitts finished his career in 1970 with the B.C. Lions, and tragically, his life ended that year when he was shot and killed by his estranged wife during a domestic dispute.

Long-time Bomber fans have been campaigning for the Pitts induction for years, and given his accomplishments, it was with good reason.

“I was blown away by the news,” said Ernie Foort, one of Pitts’ sons who still lives in Winnipeg. “I realize he is in the Bomber Hall of Fame, but often wondered over the years given all he had done in the game why he had never been inducted into the hall of fame. When I got the phone call from my sister Wanda I was overwhelmed. It’s just so awesome.”